I have a 11 year old home in the Dallas metro. We were going to replace windows in the whole house - about 40, but got overwhelmed.

Now I am looking for and at some bids for 16 West facing windows on the back of house. Six picture windows in a 2-story great room, 10 single hung. Three of which are in an upstairs gameroom that gets incredible heat from windows. It is very windy here and we get lots of wind noise and probably wind entering thru the builder grade windows (2 panes of glass, alum, no argon). Also, most of these windows have views of backyard "oasis" and we would like to get more visibility as we are currently looking thru dark solar screens.

I have two bids from what I believe are reputable companies with good installation rep and history.

One is for Simonton 5500 Reflections with Double glaze, Super Spacer 1" IGU, Argon. Option to use 366 glass for a slight increase.

Second bid is for a Traditions window made by NT specifically for this company. So I am having trouble finding many reviews online, but they supposedly do a lot of north Texas installs with this window. All bid with 366-4 low-e coating and argon, 7/8 inch, some differences from first bid as I had them bid upstairs gameroom with triple glaze and foam fill to reduce heat transfer. And they bid to temper glass in bottom 3 great room windows as this is apparently code bec of window size less than 18" from the floor. Some companies say it is the homeowners "choice".

First - do I want / need the 366 glass? Pros and cons - will I like it from a view standpoint? triple glazing and foam make a big difference in gameroom windows? Would foam in greatroom windows make a significant difference? Neither company shared the rating on air transfer - what is this one called? I'd like to do the best we can on this rating as we have tremendous wind noise now.

Who else should I get a bid from in this area for my needs?
Where can I go and look at various windows side by side??

Three of which are in an upstairs gameroom that gets incredible heat from windows. It is very windy here and we get lots of wind noise and probably wind entering thru the builder grade windows

Low-E366 is your best choice, and choosing a window with low Air Leakage rating (.08 or lower) is very important as well. While the Simonton 5500 and NT windows are comparable in quality (both being mid-range), they both have higher AL ratings.

And they bid to temper glass in bottom 3 great room windows as this is apparently code bec of window size less than 18" from the floor. Some companies say it is the homeowners "choice".

This only applies if the glass is BOTH within 18" of the floor and over 9 sq. ft. of solid glass. If you're putting in double hungs this most likely doesn't apply and you should save your money by going with standard annealed glass. If you're putting in picture windows, they very well may have to be tempered.

First - do I want / need the 366 glass? Pros and cons - will I like it from a view standpoint?

Yes, 366 is an incredibly good product for Texas, and it's not overly dark or green.

Would foam in greatroom windows make a significant difference?

Foam filling doesn't make a significant difference generally, particularly with NT, since it's merely an insert.

Neither company shared the rating on air transfer - what is this one called? I'd like to do the best we can on this rating as we have tremendous wind noise now.

They may not even now what an AL rating is. The vast majority of contractors out there know very little about window technology, testing, etc.... Both the Simonton 5500 and the NT Traditions are going to have AL ratings that range from .12 - .18. These are very average ratings, certainly not in the premium window category. Sunrise and Soft-lite are both available in DFW and both offer AL ratings in the .01 - .04 range that will serve you much better.

Loe 366 is a good glass package and will provide you considerable mitigation of the sun's heat.

A 3 coat low-e double pane window would be the absolute minimum I would propose in Texas.

In terms of triple pane, it is a great investment and will further help with solar heat gain as well as heat loss. I cannot speak to the foam portion of the question without knowing what the NFRC data on the two windows are with and without the foam.

In terms of the dealer recommendations, there are two posters that both serve the DFW area that post on this board. Both carry outstanding products and can easily provide you with a superior product and installation as compared to what you are currently being proposed.

One of them would be the guy right above me...Randy, and the other would be anthony.

Thanks! I will contact them for a bid and see if I can get a better AL rating within a reasonable budget. Looking back we did get a whole house 40ish windows bid for both Restoration and Sunrise that we could not stomach. Like 53 k and 45 K respectively, BEFORE discounts. That is like 1/6th the cost of our house! That seemed unreasonable.